Some History & English literature

Events in Literature

Beowulf

800

Chaucer

1343 - 1400

Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the first poets to write in English rather than Latin. He is most famous for The Canterbury Tales (begun in 1387 and still unfinished at his death), a set of stories told by a group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury.

The Canterbury Tales

1400

Caxton's press

1473

William Caxton brings the printing press to England. He prints The Canterbuty Tales in 1476; an English translation of Aesop's Fables in 1484, and Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur in 1485.

Tyndale's Bible

1526

William Tyndale printed the first mass-produced Bible in English. (Earlier Bibles were written in Latin.)

Shakespeare

1564 CE - 1616 CE

Generally thought of as the best English writer of all time, William Shakespeare is certainly the best-known poet and playwright of the Elizabethan era. Some 37 plays and 154 sonnets survive.
His works were performed around Europe when he was alive and they remain popular across the world today.

Romeo and Juliet

1595

Macbeth

1606

The Tempest

1611

Dickens

1812 - 1870

History

Alfred the Great

871 - 899

William I

1066 - 1087

Edward III

1 February 1327 - 21 June 1377

Black Death

1348

Richard II

Jun 22, 1377 - 1399

Henry V

1413 - 1422

Printing Press

1440

Gutenberg invents the printing press, using paper, ink and moveable type, in Germany.

Henry VIII

1509 - 1547

Elizabeth I

1558 - 1603

James I

1604 - 1625

Great Fire of London

2 september 1666

Victoria

1837 - 1901

Elizabeth II

1952 - Present

Period

Roman Britain

55 BC - 407

Anglo-Saxon

400 - 1066

Medieval

1066 - 1485

In English history and writing, the Medieval Period (or Middle Ages) begins with William the Conqueror and ends when Henry VII (the first Tudor king) takes the throne. Under William and his Norman successors, the influence of French transforms our language into Middle English.

Renaissance

1486 - 1660

The Renaissance (or Early Modern) period in our history begins with the Tudors. This is later than the Renaissance in Europe, but it is marked by a huge sharing of ideas and art from the Continent and even further afield. It is the time when the language became "modern": the time when Shakespeare was writing.

Restoration and Enlightenment

1660 - 1800

The "Restoration" refers to "restoring" the monarchy, when Charles II regained his throne after the English Civil War and a period of rule under Oliver Cromwell (and later his son, Robert). The "Enlightenment" was a time when huge discoveries were being made in science. It is sometimes also called "the age of reason".